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Tomorrow is the big day! Apple will likely be unveiling new hardware revisions of its popular iPad line, and the rumor mill is at a fever pitch. We can expect a stylishly thin redesign, but we’re wondering what else is on the docket. Will the iPad Mini ship with a Retina display? Will the Touch ID fingerprint scanner make its way to the iPhone’s big brother? If these rumors are to be believed, we’ll leave tomorrow’s press event feeling very satisfied.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple will indeed ship a Retina-capable iPad Mini, but it remains unclear about what the end cost will be to consumers. Most rumors point towards the existence of the Retina iPad Mini, but it might serve as a medium tier between the current low-res iPad Mini and the high-end 9.7-inch iPad. Since Amazon and Google are constantly pushing the specs of cheap 7-inch tablets ever-higher, it seems that asking more than $329 for the Retina iPad Mini could be a disaster for Apple. The Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HDX are already extremely compelling products, with Retina-class displays, that cost substantially less than the entry-level iPad.

The WSJ also mentions that Apple might be replacing the thick sheet of glass on the iPad with a thin film-like surface. Likely, this wouldn’t change the functionality, but it would enable Apple to ship thinner, lighter, and more aesthetically appealing products. Alternately, Apple could opt to fill that missing weight and bulk with bigger batteries — perhaps offsetting the large drain of that beautiful Retina display. Either way, Apple’s top-notch engineering team has some enormous expectations to live up to.

So, what about the Touch ID feature we saw launch on the iPhone 5S? The rumor mill is waffling back and forth about its potential inclusion with the next-gen iPads. Some outlets are claiming that we won’t see Touch ID on this crop of iPads, but two different foreign outlets (C Technology and 2014 News) are claiming that both the iPad and iPad Mini will ship with the Touch ID sensor. After all of the positive buzz surrounding this feature, it would certainly be disappointing if it wasn’t rolled out to more product lines.

Of course, nothing is assured until it’s officially announced on stage. We’ve heard that the Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, and OS X Mavericks will all make an appearance at the event as well, so we’re in for an exciting day tomorrow. As always, we’ll be covering the announcement live, so check back around 1pm ET (10am PT, 6pm GMT) tomorrow for the latest news.

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in th emeantime, my phone just crashed and rebooted using the iphone 4s with ios7..

pelov lov

It just works.

;)

serg

designed for crashing and it crash,designed for rebooting and reboots by itself

Glenn Scott

Wow! I am really impressed with the newest, latest and greatest ever iPad and iPad Mini!
They sound revolutionary, like all Apple products. I cannot wait to get my hands on them!
You know, I thought Apple was going to go down hill after Steve Jobs died, but these innovative new devices just prove me wrong. Fantastic job (no pun intended) Apple! Way to go!

Scott Jackson

How could Apple not release the new ipad with a fingerprint scanner? What else do they have to offer? And the first ipad mini should have had retina display. Apple chose to leave it out so people would have a reason to buy the newest model.

Kasem Asawaprecha

If the Retina iPad Mini is introduced as predicted, there may be a slight shake-up in the iPad line. The iPad 5 with A7X CPU may get an optional keyboard cover to facilitate occasional work situations. The experimental 13 inch iPad Max will be even more suited to work. The way I see it: the iPad Mini is for recreation; the iPad 5 is for mixing work and play; the iPad Max is a cheaper MacBook Air slightly more inclined for recreation.

Harry_Wild

CNBC video clip at the ends said that “Apple might treat the iPad Mini Retina as a flagship device”. So that means it may be the same components inside as the iPad 5! I hope this is the case; since I willing to spend the same amount on the iPad Mini Retina as the iPad 5! Maybe even a bit more for the iPad Mini Retina since it is smaller size.
If the iPad Mini Retina has the same components inside as the iPad 5 including an A7X, M7, 4GB RAM, 802.11 ac – it a no brainer for me to buy at 12:01 A.M. on release date.

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